Committee on the Rights of the Child Closes One Hundredth Session after Adopting Concluding Observations on Reports of Colombia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan and Spain

The Committee on the Rights of the Child this afternoon concluded its one hundredth session after adopting concluding observations on the periodic reports under the Convention on the Rights of the Child of Colombia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan and Spain, and on the initial report of Pakistan under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.  The concluding observations will be made available on the session’s webpage on Thursday, 5 February.

Sophie Kiladze, Committee Chair, said the conclusion of the jubilee one hundredth session invited reflection on the Committee’s achievements, but also sober consideration of the challenges that lay ahead.  The session had reaffirmed the enduring authority of the Convention and the essential role of the Committee in translating its principles into concrete guidance, accountability and change.  For 35 years, the Committee had served as a cornerstone of the international child rights protection system, shaping legal frameworks, influencing policy choices, and ensuring that children were recognised and treated as rights holders in law and in practice.

At the same time, Ms. Kiladze said, the session had taken place against a backdrop of profound global uncertainty.  The erosion of children’s rights across regions, the persistence of armed conflict causing deaths, injuries and traumatisation of children; violence against children online and offline; widening inequalities and discrimination of those most vulnerable; poverty; environmental crises; and rapidly evolving digital risks, including those in the context of artificial intelligence, underscored the continued and growing need for the Committee’s work.

Yet, the very mechanisms designed to protect children’s rights were increasingly constrained, she said.  The ongoing liquidity crisis within the United Nations system was no longer an abstract concern.  It had had tangible and troubling consequences for the Committee, including cancelled sessions and pre-sessional working groups, uncertainty affecting the work of Committee members and the Secretariat, and limitations on its ability to engage consistently with States parties, civil society and children.  Each disruption weakened the protective framework of the Convention, delayed urgently needed reforms, and diminished the visibility and accessibility of children’s rights at a time when they were most under threat.

If left unaddressed, these constraints risked undermining the effectiveness, independence and continuity of the Committee’s work.  The cost of inaction would not be measured in institutional terms alone, but in missed opportunities to prevent harm, to advance justice, and to improve the lives of millions of children worldwide.

Ms. Kiladze said this session needed to stand as both a milestone and a call to action towards States, international organizations and all stakeholders to protect the integrity of the child rights system, to preserve the space for independent human rights monitoring, and to ensure that the promise made to the world’s children continued to be upheld today and in the years to come.

Moving to formal matters, Ms. Kiladze said that, as of 30 January, there were 196 States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 173 States parties to the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, 178 States parties to the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and 53 States parties to the Optional Protocol on the communications procedure. There had been no new ratifications or accessions since the beginning of this session.

Ms. Kiladze said the Committee regretted the cancellation of the pre-sessional working group, expected to be held during the week following the end of the session, because of the United Nations’ liquidity situation.

The Committee had, during the session, adopted decisions on 19 individual communications received under the Optional Protocol on a communications procedure against Chile, Denmark, France, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Finland and Switzerland on issues related to non-refoulement, age determination of unaccompanied migrant children, family reunification, and enforcement of decisions to ensure contact with parents.  The Committee found violation in seven cases, declared three cases inadmissible, and discontinued nine cases.

The Committee also adopted its report on follow up to individual communications, in which it assessed the compliance by States parties with the Committee’s decisions, Ms. Kiladze reported.  It decided to close the follow up dialogue in four cases, including two cases against Denmark with an “A” assessment (full compliance) and two cases against Finland, one with an “A” assessment and the other with a “B” assessment (partial compliance), respectively.  Further, the Committee discussed inquiries under article 13 of the Optional Protocol on communications; it was currently dealing with four inquiries.

In addition, Ms. Kiladze said that the Committee had discussed issues related to its methods of work and continued its discussion on follow-up to the treaty body strengthening process, in the context of the United Nations liquidity crisis.  It also continued its work on the next general comment 27 on children’s rights to access justice and an effective remedy.  Further, it was actively working on improving its rules of procedure, including with a view to greater harmonisation with other treaty bodies.  This reflected its commitment to effectiveness, transparency, consistency, and better serving States parties and children.

Ms. Kiladze reported that the Committee, together with 11 other United Nations entities, had co-led, along with the International Telecommunication Union and United Nations Children's Fund, the development of the Joint Statement on Artificial intelligence and the Rights of the Child.  The Committee now looked forward to its effective implementation.

The Committee was expected to hold its one hundred and first session in May 2026, Ms. Kiladze noted.  However, this session was currently pending confirmation because of the liquidity situation.

Ms. Kiladze thanked the Committee’s many partners for their cooperation during the session, including United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations, national human rights institutions and children.

The Committee then adopted the report of its one hundredth session.

In closing, Ms. Kiladze expressed thanks to the staff of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Committee’s Secretariat, and all others who had contributed to the session.  She also sincerely thanked the members of the Committee, who had, despite suffering from the uncertainty caused by the liquidity crisis, devoted significant personal and working time to the cause of defending children’s rights around the world.

Summaries of the public meetings of the Committee can be found here, while webcasts of the public meetings can be found here.  Documents related to the Committee’s one hundredth session can be found here.

The dates and the countries to be reviewed for the Committee’s one hundred and first session have yet to be confirmed.  This information will be announced on the Committee’s website at a later date. 

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